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Transatlantic views on garden plants, native plants, invasive plants, books about plants… Plus comment on wildlife, catalog(ue)s, the smartness and the absurdity of plant names, the transatlantic life, fishing, music and more... From Northamptonshire (zone 8) in England and the much icier Pennsylvania (zone 5) in the USA.

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My latest book reveals the best plants for this worst of all garden situations. Click below to find out more.

March 16, 2015

The five volume Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles by W. J. Bean, usually referred to simply as “Bean”, is a monumental work running to over 4,000 pages. It does what it says: it describes in detail the woody plants (including climbers) that can reasonably be expected to grow outside in Britain (mostly zone 8, some zone 9).

The four A-Z volumes were last revised almost forty years ago, then a supplement appeared in 1988 (see below, click to enlarge), so it does not include recent classification and name changes and recent introductions. Otherwise, it's impressively comprehensive with good descriptions and boundless information on origins and differences between similar plants. It’s invaluable.

And what's coming next? Britain's Alpine Garden Society is well into the process of making its invaluable two volume Encyclopaedia Of Alpines available online. It's currently available from abebooks.com for £150/$250.74. You can track the progress of the operation here.

March 10, 2015

We were at the Philadelphia Flower Show on Friday and it was quite an eye opener. Though quite why the country’s best known flower show is held in a dark and dingy exhibition hall when there’s 2ft/60cm of snow on the ground is baffling.

But both the landscapers and the individual exhibitors rose to the occasion, as they have done since 1829, with spring bulbs, orchids, tropical foliage and begonias in particular providing color.

There are two main types of horticultural exhibits: displays of plants staged by landscapers and the competitions for individual plants in staged by home gardeners. The tulips, daffodls and dwarf bulbs staged by Jacques Amand International (left, click to enlarge) and the orchids from Waldor Orchids stood out.

The Jacques Amand exhibit, along with bold clumps of tulips that were proving remarkably resilient after more than a week in the poor light, featured drifts of ‘Alida’, a lovely vivid blue reticulata iris which is a sterile sport of the old favorite ‘Harmony’. The orchids on the Waldor Orchids exhibit were mainly well established varieties – why risk your really special plants in such difficult conditions? – but included some dramatic specimens. I’ll not mention the name of the exhibit that featured a frost-hardy, moisture loving astilbe alongside a frost-tender, drought loving agave. Not a planting idea to be recommended.

Over in the better lit competitions for individual plants, the range of scented-leaved and foliage pelargoniums was impressive and there were also some rare orchids to be seen. Former trustee of the American Orchid Society, and author of Bloom-Again Orchids, judywhite – aka (if you dare!) Mrs Rice – picked one out. “There was an orchid hybrid, Cymbidium Black Ruby (C. canaliculatum x Ruby Eyes), that Lois Duffin of the Greater Philadelphia Orchid Society exhibited, that was one of the darkest blackest flowers I've seen. So much so that people seem to now be calling that cross the Black Orchid. But her unnamed cultivar was exceptionally dark, and also had a white picotee edge to it. Very nice, unusual.”

But here’s the thing. For most of the exhibitors the fact that show is held in the snowy Philadelphia winter is irrelevant, it may even be an advantage. After all, if you’re trying to sell people cruises and beach vacations, trudging through snow to get to the show probably makes them more inclined to yearn for a sunny getaway.

For there are far far more sales stands, many unrelated to gardening (dog treats, soap, jewelry…), than anything else. The Marketplace alone was filled with 195 sales stands, with more outside the main hall and among the 44 more-or-less horticultural exhibits. Some were definitely for gardeners, including the Hudson Valley Seed Library and Peony's Envy Flower Farm, but Disney and Subaru were everywhere. And, frankly, speaking as an A. A. Milne fan, a display that is “inspired by the movie Winnie The Pooh” starts off at a disadvantage, says he politely. Perhaps I’m just the wrong generation.

There was also, and I didn’t expect this, a lot of alcohol about. Glasses of wines and spirits were on sale at a number of sites in the main exhibit hall - I saw one visitor making off with a double sized bottle of red wine from one of the concessions. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, who run the show, even have its own brand of cider.

And then there was actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd (click to enlarge). He was up on the stage in the main exhibit hall promoting his Crystal Head vodka and then he cheerfully spent hours signing the labels for the long line of people queuing patiently to the accompaniment of a rock band.

So, having judged many times at The Chelsea Flower Show in London, can I suggest any lessons that Chelsea could learn from Philly? Keep up the good work, seems to be the main lesson, and don’t be tempted to expand the shopping or add vodka promotions.

But wait, it’s all very well for me to be snippy about the domination of shopping at the flower show. But the number of Americans who share the well-known British mania for gardening is limited and Americans love to shop more than Brits do (although Brits are catching up fast). So perhaps the show has it right after all? And without it the finances of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society would surely be in a very sad state.

March 01, 2015

It’s amazing what you find on a short walk round a good garden. Just ten minutes after finding the two witch hazels at the Royal Horticultural Society garden at Wisley, and before spotting the Winter weirdness in the banana border I came across this stunning viburnum. It’s an old favorite but still rarely seen – Viburnum betulifolium (left, click to enlarge). I remember seeing this at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew decades ago and it made a lasting impression.

As you can see, it’s the shining red fruits that are so eye-catching. The picture was taken about three weeks ago, in early February, and those fruits had been gleaming for months; they first show their color in September! They may only be 1/4in/6mm long but they hang in such prodigious numbers that they weigh down the branches. Of course, the birds will take them in the end.

This magnificent display of translucent berries like redcurrants follows the flat heads of creamy white flowers in late spring and early summer. Have to say, though, it does make a substantial shrub: 5m/16ft, too big for some gardens. It’s happy in sun or partial shade in any reasonable soil and is hardy to USDA Zone 6, RHS H6.

Introduced into North America in 1901 by China by E. H. Wilson, it was also collected more recently by Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones of Britain's Crûg Farm Plants, their plant is called ‘Hohuanshan’ and has foliage which opens bronze. Junker's Nursery, also in Britain, has one called 'Aurantiacum' with orange berries which was originally reported from China in 1928. I’m tempted to fly back to England specially to get it. The Flora of China emphasizes how variable this species is in the wild; plenty of scope for more introductions.

Just one thing: It’s often said that two or three different plants are needed to ensure good pollination but there are also reports of single plants fruiting well. Perhaps some forms are more simply fertile than others.

Now that the ghastly hedge of Leyland cypress in our British garden is almost gone, this plant is high on the list to go along that boundary. And perhaps the orange-berried one, and perhaps the Crûg Farm one as well. Steady… steady… Better not get carried away. On the other hand…

The problem is that the plant of Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ we bought from White Flower Farm in Connecticut back in 2007 retains most of its old dry brown leaves through the winter and into flowering time – which ruins the display. And 'Pallida' is not supposed to do that.

But at Wisley, on one side of the path near the lake, was H. x intermedia ‘Pallida’, looking lovely with not one crusty old leaf interrupting the view of the flowers. And right there on the other side of the path was another witch hazel in pretty much the same color, with rows and rows of leaves along the branches completely ruining the effect. It was labeled ‘Moonlight’. You can see both in the picture (click to enlarge).

So, as soon as I got back, I looked up ‘Moonlight’ in Chris Lane’s excellent monograph Witch Hazels (out of print, but still available on amazon.com and also available on amazon.co.uk). And there I found the answer. This is what he says about it: “This selection is not widely grown any more, as it has the habit of retaining dead leaves during the winter… In the past, it has been sold as H. x intermedia ‘Pallida’ both in the United Kingdom and… also in North America.”

So it looks as if White Flower Farm sold me the impostor, ‘Moonlight’, instead of the true ‘Pallida’ – and, if I’m feeling sufficiently infuriated, I have to take the kitchen scissors and snip off every old leaf before the flowers open. Not fun. The plant has now reached almost 3m/10ft high and wide and it’s supposed to be a glorious spectacle. But, unless I snip off all those ***** leaves, it’s more of an eyesore. But at least I know what it is - though that's little comfort.

February 17, 2015

First of all, the hybrid made by Keith Hammett between the familiar sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, and L. belinensis (click to enlarge), discovered in Turkey in 1987, has been formally named by RHS botanist Dawn Edwards – Lathyrus x hammettii.

Keith worked for many years using L. belinensis with its yellow and orange flowers, to create a yellow flowered sweet pea – he started by crossing it with ‘Mrs Collier’ - and that work continues. But along the way it has, rather surprisingly, led to the development of some impressive reverse bicolours, sweet peas with the standard paler than the dark wings; ‘Erewhon’, which I discussed here a couple of years ago, is perhaps the best example so far. A full account of these hybrid and their origins was recently published in the Royal Horticultural Society magazine The Plantsman.

The other, perhaps even more startling development, relates to sweet peas as cut flowers. As you can see from the picture (click to enlarge), a Japanese grower has managed to create sweet peas with extraordinarily long stems. I’ve yet to find out quite how they did it – not being fluent in Japanese is, of course, an impediment. But whether it’s new breeding or new growing techniques it would be interesting to know quite how they did it.

February 13, 2015

On a quick gallop around the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Wisley, in Surrey south of London, last week I came across what from a distance looked like a rather old-fashioned artistic installation. But no, it’s the bananas in their winter livery (click the images to enlarge).

Growing bananas outside in Britain (zone 8) is a dicey business – so often the winters are just too cold. So the banana plants in the subtropical borders, across the lawn from the restaurant, are wrapped in fleece and hessian (burlap to Americans) to protect them.

You can tell from the way that the stalagmites are grouped that young plants springing from suckers are being protected alongside larger specimens so the technique must have worked in the past.

We all like to try to keep plants that are borderline hardy through the winter: well, this is how it’s done.

January 20, 2015

I've occasionally mentioned family activities other than horticultural ones - and the next exciting event is the European premiere of our movie in Northamptonshire on Friday!

Lies I Told My Little Sister is a family drama-comedy, written by my wife judy, which won many awards at North American festivals last year including Three Best Film honours, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay.

After the death of her oldest sister, a globe-trotting photographer is spurred by guilt onto a family trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with the younger sister she used to torment. Amid recriminations, revelations, a very strange shopkeeper and an old romance, they square off against the patterns of childhood.

Starring Lucy Walters, known for her breakout role in Steve McQueen's BAFTA-nominated Shame opposite Michael Fassbender. Also starring rocker/Broadway star Ellen Foley, who was Meat Loaf's duet partner on Bat Out of Hell, fifth best-selling album of all time. Foley, once girlfriend to Mick Jones of The Clash, was inspiration for their iconic song, "Should I Stay or Should I Go." I shoiuld also mention that I myself have a small cameo!

January 08, 2015

Bidens, tickseed, is not a plant that leaps to mind when we first think about annuals for baskets and other patio containers. It’s just not. A few years ago Bidens ferulifolia was touted as a useful basket plant but although its bright yellow daisies look good against the slender dark green leaves, and it develops an appealingly billowing habit, it makes such a big plant that almost everything else is overwhelmed.

But things have changed, and new varieties from two different sources have ensured that we all take another look at bidens.

In Britain, the Thompson & Morgan breeding program has developed a series of varieties which are much more neat and compact than Bidens ferulifolia, come in new colors and flower forms and which are also more prolific.

There are eight varieties in their Pirates Series with ‘Golden Eye’ (above, click to enlarge) probably the pick, its golden centered white flowers are outstanding. There’s also the pure white ‘Pirates Pearl’, the double yellow ‘Pirates Booty’ as well as single and semi-double yellow varieties. Unless your containers are huge, all are improvements on Bidens ferulifolia.

Then from Japan comes the Hawaiian Flare Series. No pure yellows at all in this series, which concentrates on orange and red shades and color combinations. The plants are larger than those in the Pirates Series with a semi-trailing habit and are very prolific. The first three in the Hawaiian Flare Series are ‘Hawaiian Flare Orange Yellow Brush’ (below right, click to enlarge), with gold-centered orange flowers, ‘Hawaiian Flare Orange Drop’ (below left), which is the reverse with vivid orange flowers and yellow-tipped petals while ‘Hawaiian Flare Red Drop’ (below center) is soft red in color. More are on the way.

December 30, 2014

Based in Northamptonshire in the UK, Nick Penny is a musician, instrument maker and wildlife recordist. This video features twelve short views of the same scene on the River Nene between Oundle and Cotterstock, in Northamptonshire - the changing sights and sounds of the seasons in a three-minute year. Happy New Year!